Books in the National Traditions of Opera series

Czech Opera examines opera in its national contexts, and is a study not only of operas written in Czech, but also of the specific circumstances which shaped them.

David Kimbell traces the history of Italian opera from its origins in the humanism of the Renaissance to Puccini in the early twentieth century. He draws attention not only to musical issues but also to the social, literary, and philosophical ideas that have shaped modern Italian civilisation.